Former EastEnders actress
Letitia Dean has returned to the BBC1 soap to film scenes in which her character Sharon Watts enlists the help of ex-boyfriend
Phil Mitchell to search for her missing son.

Sharon appeared in the soap for much of the eighties, nineties and noughties (Picture: BBC)

Letitia, who is one of Walford’s most recognisable faces, left EastEnders in 2006 after a five-year stint on the show in which she reprised her role of Sharon, who had originally been in the series from 1985 to 1995.

The daughter of infamous Albert Square villain Dirty Den, Sharon fled Walford after the death of her fireman husband Dennis Rickman, but is set to return in a dramatic new storyline.

Dean will be back on the Square as Watts, who is searching for her son Dennis Jr after he was abducted and by an ex-boyfriend and it appears that Sharon knows there is one friendly face in the East End she can rely on for a helping hand: Phil Mitchell.

Sharon got close to Phil and his brother Grant in the eighties (Picture: BBC)

‘Sharon is petrified of losing her son,’ a show source told The Mirror. ‘She has nowhere else to turn, so as a last resort she goes to Phil. They have a lot of history together and he agrees to help, but it’s no easy task.’The scenes are going to be emotional and gripping, which is exactly what Letitia wanted when she agreed to come back.

The character left the area after the death of her husband, Dennis Rickman (Picture: BBC)

‘They will be screened at the end of August and should ensure everyone is talking about the return of “Princess’ Sharon.”‘

The kidnap, which the Daily Star reports takes place on Sharon’s wedding day to a new, unknown man, will spark a chain of events that will see Letitia firmly entrenched back in the bosom of the EastEnders cast.

The scenes are expected to air from August onwards and Steve McFadden, who plays Phil Mitchell in EastEnders, recently described Letitia’s return as ‘brilliant’.